Monday 1st October 2012
Compare what McAuley and Patten suggest about love in “The Seduction” and “Wound Cream”
Both poets use metaphors to suggest that being in love can cause pain. In “The Seduction”, McAuley says love can lead to hurtful feelings and problems which will stay for you forever, while in “Wound Cream”, Patten implies the desire for love can cause problems. McAuley uses a metaphor to describe the young girl’s emotions which is like a “septic wound”. This infers the hurt of the young girl is strong and a “wound” will always leave a “scar” and cause pain. The “scar” for the young girl is the baby that she will have, which she’ll have full responsibility over for the rest of her life – and she is only 15 years old – just like a “wound” leaves a “scar” it is with her forever. The pain for the young girl is the memory of the night where she had sex with the boy who let her down by leaving her. She also feels heartbroken because her dream was to have a “fairytale” relationship. Her “scar” which is her baby is a constant reminder of her perfect relationship that she wanted but now it’s over. She won’t have that fantasy anymore because now she has a child with no partner, which is not how the media portrays relationships to be. These stories and magazines influence young girls telling them they’ll find a man who will take care and love the woman. But this 15 year old girl is in pain and realises all she’s been fed are lies. The young boy she met and thought was her true love has left her in misery after he betrayed her the night she fell pregnant. On the other hand, Patten shows in “Wound Cream” that many people will go through sacrifices for a happy and perfect relationship. Patten explains people have a “hunger” for love and some of the things in the relationship or to have a relationship can be of their “undoing”. The poet uses a metaphor as them having a “hunger” for love. This means they’re desperate and craving for a good relationship mostly like the “fairytale” relationship. When people were younger and as they grow up, they are told and shown love stories which end in a “happily ever after” and this is their desire once they’ve grown up but in reality you can’t find something like this so this is their pain. They’re so in need for that love that Patten also says that lovers go through stages that are of their “undoing”. This tells us that people do many different, sometimes painful and even crazy things to get in to or make their relationship work. These things that they do or say are not what they’d normally do if they weren’t in love. For example, when you’re at the start of a relationship you’re on your best behaviour and you wouldn’t do a thing out of place, just to impress your partner, but as years pass, partners seem to break apart and then they’re more true to themselves and these changes hurt people. Overall, I think that love changes and sometimes destroys the person you are. In “The Seduction”, I think that McAuley used an effective metaphor and adjective because it linked to the young girl. It links well because “wounds” leave “scars” which last forever and a young girl has a baby which is an effect which will last her forever. Patten also uses metaphors to show good points such as when he says lovers sacrifice things to satisfy each other. However, I prefer McCauley’s metaphor because there are many reasons behind the girl’s pain and agony. You can tell because of how descriptive the metaphor is. “Septic” is a really strong word and you can almost imagine how hard it is for her.
